Nintendo Switch: Why Sell A Physical Box At All If There's No Game Card?

"Full Game Download, Game Card Not Included" appears on the box for The Outer Worlds on Switch, why would they do this?

[Antnee534]

Easy it's so people who want a case on a shel can still get a case. Also bow you can trade stuff in to get said game cheaper even if you wanted it digital.

[AnubisG]

People who want a case on a shelf also want the game in it. I know because I'm one of those people. No one, not a single person wants an empty case. There is zero point to it.

[Lilrizky]

Speak for yourself. I have 400 switch physicals and about 200 being digital only titles I've printed the case for. By the time you hit the triple 0 cartridge swapping really becomes a pain in the ass. Personally, as a collector I just like displaying the covers plus I love switch box art.

[King_Noctis]

I agree. When I purchase a physical game, I want ACTUAL physical copy of it. Nintendo has gotta find a way to lower the price of those carts for the devs.

[AnubisG]

@Lilrizky,

So you took the time to print cases for games that you don't actually own.

Read the fine print of your digital games. You don't own them. You got a license to play them and they can rewoke it at any time. Go ahead, read it if you don't believe me.

So you got 200 empty cases of nothing. If it makes you happy, hey, good for you buddy. I just don't see the point.

[KillBill]

"No one, not a single person wants an empty case." - except for the fact of so many people doing exactly that by buying these empty cases at retail stores. they wouldn't do it if they din't sell.

[Ricegum]

It's also a completely unnecessary use of plastic, ridiculous having a case for a non existent game.

[Chevalier]

" Yes, lets make more plastic and pollute the world because a digital code on a piece of paper "doesn't seem too nice". Jesus, do you really think like that?"

Yeah people do think like that. You don't think luxury products like video games in general are materialistic? You forget that gaming is a luxury, not a necessity. No I don't think like that, but, having worked in a videogame store for many years in my experience yes people are absolutely like that.

In fact I hit that exact scenario where we sold out of a popular game and I suggested to a customer to get a digital copy or to buy a network card to load an account and buy the game and they scoffed and walked off.

[Chevalier]

The only reason that makes sense to me is so that parents or significant others could gift people something. Because giving someone a piece of paper with a digital code on it just doesn't seem too nice since you can't really wrap it. At least with a case you got something to wrap for gifting. Other than that I'm not sure.

[rainslacker]

I'd say the number of gifting purchases are probably not statistically high enough to support this as a business practice. Boxes on the shelf draw more attention than a digital purchase card, or pull ticket of some sort. The only reason they exist is for discovery. Switch still has a rather high percentage of retail purchases, so having it on the shelf is good for the product.

[rainslacker]

It's just a way to make it more visible on the shelf for those that want the game, but can't buy it online, or choose not to. I think just a placard card, like a pick ticket, is probably more efficient and less environmentally demanding, but it is what it is.

Generally people that want to put something on their shelf want the actual product inside the box, because they're either collectors, or they just like to have those games physically.

[GreenDragonCVR]

because it looks good on my shelf, what do you care

[RazzerRedux]

Not everyone wants to collect empty cases. Some would rather be able to sell or trade the game in when they are done. But a code is one use and done.

[Neonridr]

it definitely prevents you from trading in the game ever, which sort of sucks.

[GreenDragonCVR]

I definitely prefer to have the cartridge however if the game is digital it's nice to have something physical as well, even if it's a stupid empty box. I understand a lot of people probably do not want that kind of clutter though.

[RazzerRedux]

" if the game is digital it's nice to have something physical as well"

I can understand that. Something better than nothing, I guess.

[Tross]

I'm certainly of the type who would rather a physical game come with a case. Otherwise, I may as well just go with a digital copy of the game as that's what I would be getting anyways.

[Neonridr]

devs choice. They did it for Fortnite too on all platforms. Just to sell you a couple of cosmetic items to go with a F2P game.

[Elda]

LOL!! A game case with no game inside has zero value if one wants to trade.

[Xaevi]

Not really a Nintendo thing, but I can only think it's to fool the uninformed into buying a digital code for either a free to play game or a game that is already discounted digitally. It's BS and I always smh whenever I see it. If you're a gamer and see someone picking these things off the shelve warn em

[AnubisG]

It's also dishonest. Not many people will realize that there is only a digital code in the box and not a physical game.

[rainslacker]

I think in some cases that may be true. But with the Switch games, it's pretty predominately displayed on the box. I know some games only had it as a little blurb on the back of the box, and if you didn't really read it, or know ahead of time, you may not know until you get home.

I was about to buy Rare Replay when I got my X1, but saw that about 1/4 of the games weren't even on the disc. I decided not to buy it, because what's the point of a compilation if that compilation isn't on the disc itself. Same reason I didn't buy the Spyro Collection.

That in turn makes me not want to even bother with the digital version, because it's a practice I don't support, because it's about the only way I can exercise my demands as a consumer of physical products that physical products be an actual physical product.

[Interloper]

Who knows...

[Imortus_san]

Because Nintendo online sucks, and they sell more games at retail then on there infrastructure.

[King_Noctis]

So how do you explain games like Fortnite being sold on other platforms physically with no disc as well? Is it because Nintendo suck too?

[Imortus_san]

Bad exemple you got, Fortnite is an online game only, Nintendo Switch is selling normal single player games with only the download code.

[plmkoh]

Damn really, people don't have enough imagination to realize why this is done?

[tochi]

In old days, Nintendo's biggest strength came from exclusive deals with toy retailers. They acted together to kick out any potential competitions from store shelves. That was why Sony's strategy to sell video games outside of toy stores devastated Nintendo's domination.

Nintendo will most likely be the last game company to leave retail store shelves. Because they are still bonded to how they started their business.

[AuraAbjure]

I wish companies would make a statement explaining this behavior.

[CrimsonWing69]

This is the same company that sells you cardboard.

[King_Noctis]

Which is functional and has actual purpose to it.

Your comment has no actual relation to the topic at hand whatsoever.

[CrimsonWing69]

Sure, it does, people area baffled as to what Nintendo is selling and I'm making the statement that this isn't the first time Nintendo has sold people garbage.

I'm sure you can find purpose and functionality with the box.

[Neonridr]

too bad this is Obsidian, not Nintendo here.

[Lilrizky]

I like to display my physicals. I've even printed custom covers for digital only games. There's no actual, economic or practical reason for wanting. But not everything has to be.

[Lexreborn2]

I'm pretty sure they will just lower the cost of switch to 200 base model, 150 lite model and 2 years after the price drop release an update "pro" version that is 300 but plays the games portably at 1440p with some 4K indies and maybe a showcase game that can do it.

This is the way they did the Gameboy, DS etc. And, it works for them. More people will be inclined to buy a switch as a secondary system and if they continue the trend of letting other services like PS Now/Game Pass on them they will be able to hold their own fine.

[CDbiggen]

I've only just discovered through this thread that having empty game cases is a thing. What a waste of space.

[Wedge19]

The answer is simple: Retail visibility.

[Bleucrunch]

What is the logic of purchasing a digital (which you DO NOT REALLY OWN but you knew that already right?) wasting plastic, for something that will just pick up dust on your shelf, some gamers are real idiots sometimes.....smh!!!

[Exvalos]

There is no collector on this planet that goes to ebay and just buys a game case, and throws it into the collection, without owning the game. That's like being a book collector but you just buy the cover. Nobody does that.

[rainslacker]

Empty box sales are pretty common on ebay. But usually it's to have a box/case for a game that one may have gotten as a loose game. Same goes for instruction manuals for games people get without instructions...which was a common thing back in older generations with rentals and trade ins often not having them.

Otherwise, outside of some nice boxes some people like to just have as display pieces, I don't think there is a market for it, and that which does exist I wouldn't say is a huge segment of the collector market.

In this case, it's just retail visibility. For all the talk about how publishers want everything digital, they still know that physical retail makes up the majority of their purchases.

[Gameseeker_Frampt]

Why are so many people here upset about something that is optional? If you don't want an empty case, buy the game from the eshop or just throw away the case. How exactly is this worse than all the other digital copies of games sold in physical stores on those hanging plastic cards?

[zugdar]

The story is irrelevant as far as this specific games goes. It just got delayed due to the virus outbreak and will now be published on a cartridge when it does release.

[KillBill]

"If a game is digital-only it should stay in the virtual shop, with retail awareness coming from posters and banners" - totally misses the point of retail where many people like paying with cash and so many people hate using a card online. .